Andes-Amazon Initiative

Andes-Amazon Initiative

Since 2001, we've helped conserve over 170 million hectares in the Amazon — an area more than four times the size of California.

Spanning eight countries and one territory, the Amazon—Earth’s largest remaining rainforest—stretches from the eastern slopes of the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean. With a relatively low human population density, it provides one-fifth of the world’s fresh water and is home to the planet’s most diverse collection of birds, mammals, freshwater fish and plants. Its forests help mitigate global climate change.

Over the past decade, sustainable management of indigenous lands and protected areas, as well as land-use policies, have dramatically slowed the rate of deforestation. But significant threats remain. Nearly 20 percent of Amazonian forest cover has already been lost to logging, hydrocarbon and infrastructure development, cattle ranching, soy farming and mining.

Local and national governments, indigenous communities, NGOs and the private sector are working independently and in partnership to conserve the forests of the Amazon. We support efforts to ensure that existing and newly created indigenous lands and protected areas have the financing and management mechanisms needed to enable their long-term effectiveness.